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Women's marathon global champion Ruth Chepngetich has been prohibited for three years after the runner confessed to anti-doping rule violations.

Chepngetich was temporarily banned in July following a failed test for Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) - a banned diuretic often utilized as a masking agent - on 14 March.

The athlete's accomplishments which occurred before that sample - such as her global best performance of two hours, nine minutes and 56 seconds in the Chicago event in October 2024 - will remain valid.

The sports governing body had requested a 48-month ban but the 31-year-old penalty was lowered to 36 months because she admitted to the violations.

Nonetheless, the AIU will continue to investigate evidence from the athlete's mobile device which it found indicate "strong grounds that her positive test may have been deliberate" - featuring messages dating back to 2022.

"This matter regarding the failed test for HCTZ has been resolved, but the AIU will continue to investigate the questionable evidence found on Chepngetich's phone to determine if any further infractions have occurred."

'Nobody is above the rules'

When interviewed in April by the AIU, Chepngetich, the first woman to run a marathon in under 2:10, could not provide an explanation for the failed test.

While the substance has a lowest detectable limit of 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/mL) in urine, the athlete's sample showed an estimated concentration of 3800 ng/mL.

Traces of the diuretic under the minimal reporting level were also found in a sample collected from Chepngetich 14 days prior, on February 28.

At a subsequent meeting on 11 July, the record holder was shown the aforementioned suspicious evidence acquired from her phone. Meanwhile, accidental exposure had also been ruled out by the authority.

The athlete altered her story on July 31, claiming that she had used her domestic worker's medication - labeled as being the banned substance - after becoming ill 48 hours prior to the failed test.

The unit had "major doubts about the reliability of the new version of events" and, in the context of the sport's anti-doping rules, such "carelessness" is deemed "implied intention, for which an longer 48-month penalty applies".

An automatic one-year reduction was granted after the runner confessed to the doping rule violations inside the 20 days required.

The three-year ban commenced on 19 April - when Chepngetich accepted a temporary ban - with the runner's performances, awards, titles, appearance and prize money from 14 March lost.

"Nobody is above the rules."

"Although disappointing for those who put their trust in this athlete, this is how the system is designed to operate."

"The road-running industry should be commended for collectively funding anti-doping efforts capable of revealing substance abuses performed by elite athletes in their races."